Béghin Say: it is “not normal” to close a factory when “we make money”, judges the executive

For the Minister of Industry, this decision is incomprehensible. Roland Lescure felt on Monday that it was “not normal” that the sugar group Tereos closes its factory in Escaudoeuvres (North)while he “makes money”.

“I want to understand the numbers, because at this point, a company that makes money that closes a factory, I think that is not normal,” he said at a few hours an on-site visit, on the Sud Radio antenna.

“What they are telling us is that they expect beet production to decrease in the next two years and that for this they intend to reconsolidate their production in three factories out of four”, indicated the minister.

123 positions will be eliminated

The historic site of the group, owner of Béghin Say, was soon to celebrate its 150th anniversary, but on Wednesday, the management announced its closure by mid-June, and the elimination of 123 positions, due to a “sustainable reduction » in beet production in 2023-2024, with, in the Escaudoeuvres sector, a drop in sown areas of more than 10%.

Following an opinion from European justice issued on January 21, France had to give up a new derogation to coat the seeds with these insecticides, a few weeks before the start of sowing. Harmful to bees, they were authorized until 2023 to protect beets against jaundice.

“For the moment, the production of beets has not dropped, for the moment, the famous aphid, it has not struck”, exclaimed Roland Lescure, estimating that “we are crying fire then that we didn’t see a spark”. He recalled the government’s commitment to “compensate affected beet growers if necessary” and asked for “clarity” on all of this.

The Minister must also go to the bedside of the employees of the Buitoni factory in Caudryjust a few kilometers away, from which the Nestlé group announced a suspension of activity due to a drop in sales, consecutive to a serious health scandal. He wants the factory to remain open, and called on Nestlé, owner of the site, to continue to invest in France and Caudry.